Bomb threat forces evacuation of Oakland's Cerebral Palsy Center for the Bay Area

OAKLAND -- About 50 clients and staffers at the Cerebral Palsy Center for the Bay Area were evacuated Thursday morning after a bomb threat was phoned into the facility, police said.

A man called the center, at 4500 Lincoln Ave., not far from the Mormon Temple, just after 9 a.m. and said there was a bomb in the building before hanging up, police said.

Police were called and the facility evacuated while authorities tried to determine if the threat was real.

Those evacuated, many of whom were clients in wheelchairs, were put onto buses to be driven away from the center. It was not known where they were being taken to.

Police were determining whether to shut down Lincoln Avenue.

According to the center's website, its programs "are designed to increased the involvement of participants in their communities, expand their skills, improve their health and wellness, and promote sef-advocacy and self-sufficiency."